IMAGINE you had access to every mobile phone, computer, CCTV camera, internet-enabled device or IT system in your city. What would you do with that power?

If you’ve ever wanted to know the answer to the question, Watch Dogs 2 is the game for you.

Developed and published by Ubisoft, Watch Dogs 2 is the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC sequel to the company’s 2014 open-world hacker action/adventure game Watch Dogs.

As one of the people who enjoyed the original game, I had been looking forward to the sequel for some time — and it has proven well worth the wait.

Set in a world where data surveillance has reached near-Minority Report levels and a computer system known as ctOS monitors a range of data feeds, cameras, security and communication systems in major US cities, Watch Dogs 2 casts you as grey-hat hacker Marcus Holloway, who is a member of hacking activist group DedSec fighting against corporate and government surveillance in the city of San Francisco.

What starts off as effectively “What do ‘they’ know? Do ‘they’ know things? Let’s find out!” soon turns into something much larger and more sinister as DedSec uncover more of the truth behind what’s actually going on.

While Aiden Pearce, the protagonist of the original game, was widely derided for being dour and uninteresting, Marcus is a likeable chap with a good sense of humour and a playful nature.

The world is brighter and more vibrant, the characters are better, and the game is generally much better than its predecessor. San Francisco is a much more interesting setting than Chicago, and Watch Dogs 2 also has a funky street art aesthetic throughout which adds to the game’s visual style.

The main story follows DedSec’s fight against the company running ctOS and the government, along with rival hackers and other entities including dodgy companies and a religion making fraudulent claims to its followers.

Watch Dogs 2 is set in very detailed map of San Francisco.Source:AP

Marcus’ hacking skills are formidable and allow him to interact with the world in a variety of imaginative ways. He can hack into security cameras, take control of vehicles and traffic lights, he can use his ctOS backdoor connection to instantly profile everyone he encounters, and develop his hacking abilities to give him newer and more options including marking people for arrest by the police or targeting them for an organised crime group hit.

It all comes together extremely well and the game is a lot of fun to play, with a likeable cast, plenty of entertaining moments and lots to do and explore. Watch Dogs 2’s San Francisco has plenty of nice touches, right down to people photobombing your in-game selfies, bystanders getting into fights with each other, and other assorted touches which make the setting an interesting place to be.

Perhaps my biggest issue with the game is that it seems to take itself too seriously at times, however.

Fortunately, the developers seem reasonably aware how silly (in a good way) a lot of the elements are — one mission memorably involves stealing a Knight Rider-esque car then adapting it to DedSec’s purposes in an 80s-tastic montage — and there’s several other pop-culture references and nods to the fact not everything is Serious Business.

One of the items at your disposal is a 3D printer which can print everything from quadcopter drones to assault rifles — something which does rather raise questions about whether the ability to 3D print functioning automatic weapons is actually a bigger threat to everyone than the government and corporations knowing which websites people like visit at night (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

While hacking is a key element of the game, Marcus is also adept with a range of firearms and there appear to be no detriments to employing them as often as possible. Several missions are clearly set up so Marcus can sneakily infiltrate via his left hacking skills, but it’s sometimes considerably easier to just walk in, open fire, shoot everyone who gets in your way, hack the mission objective, and walk out again, maybe pausing briefly to shoot some of the reinforcements if one is so inclined.

Drones, 3D printed guns and all other sorts of tech.Source:Supplied

While Marcus lacks the personal motivation of Aiden Pearce — which isn’t hard, considering Aiden was avenging his niece’s murder while Marcus isn’t a fan of massive government and corporate surveillance after finding himself on the wrong side of its profiling algorithms — it also frees him (and by extension the player) up to have some fun with the San Francisco sandbox Ubisoft have created.

There’s almost a Saints Row-esque quality to things as you wander around the city, causing traffic chaos by hacking traffic lights, blowing up water mains, transferring money from bank accounts, shutting down computer systems and firing guns at things.

As another bonus, the game doesn’t use the well-known Ubisoft “towers” approach to unlocking areas of the map — there’s no tedious climbing to the top of radio towers or local landmarks required to make activities in a given area available this time around, and fast travel to many points in the city is available straight off the bat.

You are basically free to take on “The System” however you like, be that with a keyboard or a Kalashnikov, which opens up a lot of options.

There is a serious message in the game and it does rather have a point about the modern surveillance world, but at the same time, it doesn’t really break any new ground from a gameplay perspective.

The hacking mechanic is still very good and remains similar to the first game with a few enhancements, such as the quadcopter and a radio controlled wheeled vehicle, but the shooting and driving elements are pretty standard fare for the genre.

Overall, Watch Dogs 2 is well worth playing and might even give you something to think about in the process.

If you didn’t get a chance to boot up the first game, definitely check this one out — the hacking mechanic is quite unlike anything else in an open-world game series and pulling off some of the more daring escapes and creating chaos are surprisingly rewarding.

And if you liked Watch Dogs, then you’ll love this — it improves on the original in several ways and is definitely a much better, more fun, and more enjoyable game.